Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear. You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (CEV)
In this week after Easter it is only appropriate that we focus on the hope we have in living because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Yesterday we discovered the great gift we receive with the believer’s hope, the inheritance. The inheritance is the eternal life that God gives us. With that inheritance comes the Assurance of the Hope.
How do we know for sure that we will receive the inheritance?
The temptations and trials of life are so forceful and threatening, how do we know that we will receive the living hope of eternal life and its glorious inheritance? How do we know that we will not fall and come short of the great day of redemption?
There are two answers:
- First, there is the assurance of God’s power. God’s power keeps us. The word "kept" means to guard; to garrison; to protect.
It is a military term; therefore it has the idea of might and strength. The might and strength of God’s power protect us throughout our journey in life—through all the trials and temptations of life—and God will see to it that we shall reach the glorious end of life: salvation. God Himself, in His sovereign and omnipotent power, will see to it that we receive eternal life and the inheritance that is being reserved for us.
- Second, there is the assurance of faith. We are kept not only by God, but by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by our faith in God’s power.
No person shall ever receive the hope of eternal life or of God’s glorious inheritance unless he truly believes in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Belief in Christ is absolutely essential. But once we have truly trusted Christ as our Savior, we are saved; we shall receive eternal life and the great inheritance of God’s promise.
1Peter 1:3 says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… If we believe that the shed blood of Jesus on the cross covers our sin, then we can believe that the resurrection of Jesus can open the door to our resurrection to a new life and, along with it, the assurance of our inheritance. Praise God! We can rest assured that He provided the assurance we need at the same time He provided the inheritance!
A true faith is a continuing faith and trust in God’s power and a continuing faith is diligent and vigilant. It is a faith that loves Christ with all its heart and life. It is a faith that seeks to follow Christ and to please Him in all that it does. The person who has this kind of faith has the assurance that he will receive eternal life and the promise of the inheritance. God gives the true believer this kind of assurance.
For the LORD loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed. Psalm 37:28
